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It’s all about the Guide... In the “media and marketing” context, there is perhaps no more intimate and important connection with diehards, as well as angler prospects, than what is said and accomplished on the water with a working guide. Written by Brandon D. Shuler
AnglingTrade.com / March 2010
Stan stomps a bare heel on the casting platform. The power of the calcaneus against the formed fiberglass reverberates through the hull of my Kevlar–lined poling skiff flushing a mulling school of redfish. Stan spins on said heel and screams at me, “You’re the worst damn guide ever.” I pull the red bandana protecting my skin from the searing sun tighter to my face, like the banditos that used to haunt the shores of my beloved Laguna Madre. A grin is spreading across my face. I don’t let Stan’s ranting and cursing dissuade me because I know he’s lying. He’ll book me before the day’s over because Stan gets “it.” The ubiquitous “it” that so few charters understand or even knows exist. Stan understands, even though he is paying me for the day to put him on fish and maybe share a few of the finer points to perfect his already pretty damn near perfect cast, the success of the day ultimately rests with him: not me. As the day rolls along and the winds rise, I pole Stan along for miles chasing tail after tail. Some casts are spot-on and a hungry volunteer happily devours Stan’s fly of choice; others shun his offering like some drifting detritus. Idling back into the Port Mansfield harbor Stan asks me when my next open offshore day is. 40